Always five value as you are asking for it.” – Make it clear to the other person why they should be covering your story. -Do’s – Use these best practices for outreaching: -Spend time finding the right prospects -Make sure the content truly has value for the foreign target audience -Make the pitch easy to scan by including only relevant information -Communicate the added value to the recipient -Follow-up -Adapt the pitch if you’re not receiving any replies -Don’t give up! Don’ts – Avoid this: -Not opening the outreach email with the most important information -Not researching enough about the journalist and the magazine they represent -Thinking your campaign is more newsworthy than it actually is -Not explaining the concept simply enough -Not following up -Giving up too soon -Not answering fast enough to media requests

1. Tips, tricks & major fails
International Outreach
Dominique Seppelt I Peak Ace Ag I @dominiquespplt

2. Give value as well as asking for it

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Outreach best practices
Spend time prospecting
Make sure that the content is relevant to your target audience
Write succinctly
Make your pitch easy to scan by using subheadings and bullet
points
Only include information relevant to the angle you‘re pitching
Be sure to follow up
Adapt your pitch if you aren‘t getting replies
Don‘t be put off by setbacks
Communicate the added value for the recipient

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Outreach best practices
Elements of an email
Subject line
Lede
Link
Results
Methodology
Expert quote
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/AlexCassidy/email-anatomy-how-to-get-top-tier-links

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Major fails
✖ Burying the lede: not opening with the most important
information
✖ Not researching a journalist‘s beat and sending irrelevant
content
✖ Thinking your pitch is more newsworthy than it is
✖ Curse of knowledge: not explaining your concept simply
enough for a non-expert to understand
✖ Giving up before you‘ve tried enough angles
✖ Not following up
✖ Taking too long to respond to media requests

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Impersonal email templates with unclear request
Negative example of an outreach email from a blogger‘s point of view
Dear John Doe,
I hope you're all right.
Your blog caught my attention the other day for its great content.
We are currently working on a project that would fit in very well with your blog.
We are working on several content campaigns with different customers from various subject
areas, such as food and lifestyle.
We offer articles written individually for your website, which are of course adapted to you
and your readers by our professional authors.
Do you accept such articles on your website?
Alternatively, you can also write the article yourself!
Feel free to let me know your thoughts about it.
Of course we can work with you on the exact topic.
I am looking forward to a great collaboration.
Jane Doe
My name!
Always those fill-ins ...
Should I answer it?
Copy-and-paste
What does this person want from
me?
Do you also specify the exact
subject?
Altogether, an unclear email, lacking personalisation and
a concretely formulated request

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“What do you really ask for, and what do I get out of it?”
Negative example but with good parts of an outreach email from a blogger‘s point of
view
Dear John Doe,
my name is Jane Doe, from XYZ Company in Berlin.
I am contacting you since our prior collaboration went very well and accordingly, we would like to offer you the
chance to cooperate with a new customer :)
This time the client deals with company X, a supplier of a mainstream product: women's and men's fashion.
Our client really likes your blog, because it is genuine and the pictures show that you really put a lot of energy
and passion into your posts. Both when writing and in your photos, you never lose attention to detail, we have
noticed and find it particularly great. Therefore I am convinced that company X and your blog would fit together
very well and wanted to ask you for a collaboration. Would you like to write a post with regard to our client?
Company X has a large selection of fashion for everyday and special occasions, here you are sure to find
products that suit your style and target group and serve as an inspiration for your readers.
It should not be an SEO or advertising text for our client, but should of course give your readers added value and
inspiration. In general, we are open to your suggestions. Something like you did last time for Company Y would
be great this time too :).
Would this new cooperation be feasible for you in general? If you are interested, I will of course send you more
detailed information.
Good: name + short
introduction.
Good: my work is appreciated.
Good: the client is named. Does it suit me?
Clearly copy-paste BUT the request is stated.
Just checking out the online store. The target
group does not really fit...
Sounds promising.
That's where I have my freedom.
BUT what is the added value?

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DE vs. UK outreach

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DE vs. UK outreach
 Email works well in both countries
 Pitching or following up by phone works in DE; in the UK
just use email
 If you‘re connecting with journalists on social media, use
LinkedIn in Germany and Twitter in the UK
 Tabloid topics don‘t work that well in Germany, but can
work in the UK
 Data-driven campaigns work in both countries
 In DE, content shouldn‘t be too broad, works best when
relevant to a specialised group

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How to find the perfect target pages

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How to find the perfect target pages
Prospecting can be creative, too! Try brainstorming different ways of finding target
pages for your campaign
 National news: Grab a list of UK national newspapers from
Wikipedia
 Local news: Search Google for e.g. “Leeds news“ to find local
media in that area
 Use Google search operators: siegemedia
 Topical searches: Search for e.g. “travel news” or “travel
magazine” to find sites that may be interested in a travel story
 Specialist magazines/websites: Find sites on topics such as tech
or photography using All You Can Read or All Top
 Deep pages: See who’s linked to similar campaigns in Majestic.
Would they feature to your campaign, too?
 Media databases: Use a media database like Gorkana to get a list
of sites on your topic

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How to pitch journalists

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Evaluation first!
Pre-outreach refers to the communication with target
media/experts, before the publication of the content.“
Pre-awareness amongst target mediaFeedback about a content idea

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With existing contacts, asking for feedback and input
Outreach to get feedback on the content idea
Subject: Your feedback on a content idea
Hey XXX,
I briefly wanted to ask you for some feedback regarding a content idea which we planned in collaboration with XXX. The idea is to create a world map showing information about the
different vaccinations needed when visiting each country. When the mouse is rolled over the map, a pop-up window appears with information such as compulsory vaccinations /
recommended vaccinations, lead time, costs etc.
I don't know about you, but when I went to Thailand, finding out if I actually needed a vaccine or not was a confusing process. With information about the recommended vaccinations
for different countries being somewhat scattered, we decided to compile everything in a single interactive world map.
What do you think about this idea? Do you think it would go down well?
I'd love to get your feedback on it!
Regards from Berlin,
XXX
Request

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Contact feels valued, is interested in seeing the content
Outreach to get feedback on the content idea
Hey XXX,
I am also always amazed at how many questions are asked about visas and vaccinations...
Everything is actually on the Federal Foreign Office website and there are many other pages, but there is always some confusion...
It is best to ask the tropical physician about vaccinations, but they can also differ in their opinion.
I think the idea is great... That will take some effort if you want to do it for ALL countries. Maybe you limit yourselves to regions?
In any case, I am curious about the result... With the map (although available without branding) I can also assure you to find an article in which I can post it.
Regards,
XXX
Answer

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Hello Mr XXX,
In fact, we are in the early stages of a very exciting, data-driven campaign on the topic of "Entrepreneurship – on what is success and failure
dependent? I can imagine that the results in the area of IT in particular could be interesting for you from an editorial point of view.
The campaign offers a worldwide overview of various exciting aspects:
What are the...
most frequent founding motivations of entrepreneurs?
or the most frequent reasons for the failure of entrepreneurs?
How balanced is the…
• Sector distribution (e.g. agriculture, mining, manufacturing, transport, IT, retail)
We would like to answer these and other exciting questions with the help of an interactive world map that visualises both the continental
differences and the differences between the individual industrial countries and sectors.
The above-mentioned points represent the aspects according to which the user can filter, among other things - so the desired information and
comparisons are made available with just one click. By the way, the interactive map will be integrated via an embed code, so that your readers can
also use the map to its full functional extent on your website - free of charge, of course.
If you are interested, I will be happy to send you a first draft showing how the map can look like.
The campaign is expected to be published at the end of October/beginning of November.
Introduce your concept, mention the publishing date
Outreach for pre-awareness amongst target media
Background
Hello Mrs XXX,
no problem - I'll be glad if you like it!
If you have another unusual topic
related to technology I am always
looking forward to a little variety in
business IT everyday topic.
Greetings and have a nice weekend!
XXX
Pre-outreach email
Hello XXX,
The project sounds really interesting – I could imagine doing something nice for it! So would be great if you send me a first draft.
From the timing it fits almost perfectly: I am on holiday from 16.10. to 6.11. - but I would then (if everything works out) prepare something for it!
Many greetings back to the capital,
XXX
Answer

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Email
bloggers
But how should I reach out?
Telephone or email?
By telephone
editors/experts
Faster feedback
Easier to explain an idea or project
Important: right after the call,
always send an email recap
of the conversation

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Muck Rack’s 2019 survey of 700 (UK) journalists
The most preferred method of pitching among journalist is 1:1 email. Least preferred is by phone.
Source: https://muckrack.com/blog/2019/07/01/2019-muck-rack-journalist-survey-results

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Muck Rack’s 2019 survey of 700 (UK) journalists
The state of journalism
 65% of journalists like to be pitched between 9-11am
 Lack of personalization is once again the #1 reason why journalists reject otherwise relevant pitches (25%), followed by
bad timing (23%)
 1/3 of journalists want to receive pitches under 3 sentences in length, with another 61% preferring under 3 paragraphs.
Only 6% of journalists would like to receive pitches over 3 paragraphs.
 73% of journalists are OK with receiving a follow up to a pitch they didn’t initially respond to. Only 12% would prefer to
not receive any type of follow up.
 76% of journalists are more likely to cover a story if offered as exclusive. 0% said they would be less likely.
Source: https://muckrack.com/blog/2019/07/01/2019-muck-rack-journalist-survey-results

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Dos for email Dont‘s for email
 Mention the advantages for the reader
 Conduct a purposeful conversation
 Show interest in previous projects and posts
 Align your speech with your contact person
 Mention the connection between the two
 Mention the added value & Give something back!
 Establish a relationship
 Mention other possible cooperations
 Always find the right contact person (no info@emails)
 Always pay attention to a good subject line
 Test different outreach templates and approaches
 Your content has already been published by other (large)
sites? Perfect! Go through these articles and pick a catchy
title from one of them.
 Send the email to the first available email address
 Send an email when it would be easier to call
 Send an unpersonalised email
 Send emails with complicated sentences and a
convoluted structure
 Overload your emails with links and images (they may end
up in the spam folder)
 Write an email in a rush
 Take a long time to reply
 Forget to follow-up
Outreach by email – dos and dont‘s
Summary

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Dos for telephone Dont‘s for telephone
 Introduce yourself briefly
 Get put through to the right contact person
 Prepare a script with the key information
 Set up the contact details
 Follow the phone call with an email summarising the most
important points
 Be enthusiastic and positive and remember the impact of
your voice
 Forget to follow-up with an email
 Forget to ask for the right contact person
 Rush to make a phone call
 Draw uncertain conclusions (better ask again directly)
 Sound unprepared or annoyed
 Forget to use the authority of the brand or the client
Outreach by telephone – dos and dont‘s
Summary

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Which formats work best?

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Survey/collect your own data
The digitalisation of family life: parents, children and screens
Source: https://www.faireparterie.fr/etude-enfants-rapport-digital/
 A French survey of young parents and their relationship
with technology
 Timely topic as digital natives are becoming parents
 Society is concerned about the effects of social media and
excessive screen time
 Generated a great headline: “One in three babies has a
digital fingerprint before they are born”

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Index, rankings, leaderboards
The UK‘s most affordable university towns
Source: https://www.totallymoney.com/content/best-university/
 The UK’s top 50 universities ranked according to
affordability
 Answers an important question since tuition fees in the
UK are high
 Hard to argue with methodology as only costs are
compared  with more research effort the content could
have been made even more relevant)
 Index can be updated annually

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Open data source
50 European travel destinations for your Instagram
Source: https://www.autoescape.com/blog/destinations-de-voyage-instagram/
 What are the most popular destinations in Europe among
influencers?
 Uses hashtag frequency to determine ranking
 Great for travel sections, and also appeals to local media
 Only research effort, but no market research or additional
data necessary

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Pre-existing dataset
Director’s Cut
Source: https://www.gocompare.com/life-insurance/directors-cut/
 Ranking of Hollywood films with the most on-screen
deaths
 The majority of the data was sourced from a forum called
Movie Body Counts, and then updated
 Generated a great headline: “Guardians of the Galaxy is
the deadliest film of all time”  I.e. family entertainment
is more perilous than horror

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What has changed in the last few years?

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What has changed in the last few years?
There are now 6 PR professionals for every journalist (U.S. Census data)
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-27/public-relations-jobs-boom-as-buffett-sees-newspapers-dying

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What has changed in the last few years?
 Competition has increased, with more campaigns being made now than a few years ago
 Outreach has become more sophisticated, some SEO agencies are more like PR agencies
 Concepts need to be original and well-executed to cut through the noise
 A new methodology is no longer enough; the campaign must tell a good story
 Journalists still receive a lot of pitches
But great campaigns still get covered!

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Dominique Seppelt
d.seppelt@pa.ag